Submarine craft.



v same.

The present invention. relates to mecha- TEv oio.

KENNETH'WHITING, OF LARGHMONT, NEW YORK, AssiGNoR .'rolnLnoTaic BOAT COMPANY, or NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

sUBiviAnINn CRAFT. f

To all 'whom 'it may vconcern Be it known that I, KENNETH WHirING,

`a citizen of the United States,residing at,

and whose post-office address is Larchinont, county of Westchester, and VState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Submarine Craft; and'I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the,l invention, such 4as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains `to make and use the f nismeffective to automatically cause .a

water-.tight submarinecraft tO rise tov the surface of the water after it sinks to a predetermined depth, and more specically to suoli mechanism `wherein aV mass of material of higher specificgravity' than the'water in which the craft is' designed to operate, and of suitabl'evolume, is automatically released from the craft by supporting mechanism on which the hydrostatic pressure of Jsubmergence acts directly, so that the tendency ofV the supporting mechanism is gradually overcome as the craft sinks,land themass instantly. released at the predetermined depth.

A"typicalapplication of my improved apparatus is in connection wit-h practice submarine torpedoes. vIn suchtorpedoes the depthregulating apparatus sometimes fails and allows thetorpedo to sink`,'or`asimilar action results from other causes, whereupon the torpedo islost. lThis difficulty has previously'been recognized and apparatus has been devised for .effecting the recovery of the torpedo, but the apparatus previously vdisclosedfor thispurpose has several practical disadvantages.

In accordance with my present invention,

the mass of'material, preferablymetal,- is' disengageably heldby y supporting mechanism which is'exposed on one side to the interior vof the torpedo, and on the other side to the hydrostatic 'pressure of submergen'ce .since tis designed -tojbe lighter :thanlthe water displaced. By this construction, the' specification or Lett-auraient. l f Patntd Mayg, 1914. Application mea January 4, 191s. 'se-muvo. 7210,212L

whole-'disengageable -mass is instantly released by means of mechanism" which is acted upon directly by-the surrounding water, so that the action of the releasing mechanism is not dependentv upon the action ofany inter-r mediate apparatus. Furthermore, the exfposed/surfaceof the disengageable mass is shaped soas to conformvwith the lines of the hull of the craft, thereby presenting an uninterrupted contact surface ito the water when the craft` is' in normal operation.

n In the. accompanying drawings, illustrat-- g ing the preferredlform of my apparatus applied to a submarine.torpedo,` for example, of' which the detachable head only ijsshown: Figure 1 represents a side elevation partly in section, of the head ofsuch a torpedo, adapted to A'be tted'to the remaining part ofthe torpedov to form acomplete device; l i

and Fig. 2 represents a cross section on line i, y l

y p75, The torpedo is provided with ahull 1 of' 2-2 of Fig. l.

metal designed .to withstand the hydrostatic pressure of submergence at the, greatest depth to which the torpedo 'isintendedvtol, d g

sink, and to remain sealed against the entrance of water at all times., The hull is provided with an inwardly convergingv pocket Q'intowhich fits 'avdetachable mass comprising acast iron frame 3 shaped sofas.

to closely fit within the pocket and a blockt of lea'd embraced by the frame, the exposed ,l surface 5 of the mass being shaped to 'conf form withthe lines of the vh ull'* so as to present an uninterrupted contact surface tothe water, as shown.l The mass is located so as to give the proper trim to the torpedo when associated with it,and to cause the torpedo to point upward when released from' it. A

lFurthermore, the' total weight ofthe tor-Y ypedol in normal operationA .is preferably slightly greater than the water displaced by it when submerged, but the detachable mass has such weight that when released,;the rel maining torpedo structure is of less weight than the'vwa'terdisplaced, and therefore rises to the surface,

The supporting mechanism for disengage- Y ably holdngjthe lmass'gin' place in the pocket 2 will now be describ'ed. 1 y j It is well-underst'o 'id that the hydrostatic pressure of submergenoe in water in l'which torpedoes of this kind Aare, usually' designed its( to operate, amountsto approximately .one-

Y the drawings, the'toes of the latches engage vhalf poundper square inch for-each foot of depth. .The iiexible diaphragmis exposed 'one side to the pressurewithin the torpedo head, usually atmospheric pressure, and exposed on'the other side to the=hydrostat1c pressure .of,submergence, so thai-...for each,

foot of depth t-here is an upward pressure on the diaphragm amounting to approximately one half-pound per square inch for each foot of depth. This `hydrostatic pressure is brought to bear .upon 'the diaphragm' by means of the conduits 7 leading directly from the sides of the torpedo, and vthe openings 8 in the wall ofthe chamber containing the diaphragm, while the pressure within the torpedo' acts upon the I4other side of the diaphragm, as a result of the openings 9 in Lthe opposite wall 'of this chamber, the flex- -ible outer part of the diaphragm forming a water-tight joint with these .Walls so as to effectively seal the inside of the torpedo at this place against the vent-raunce of water. The spring 10 is compressed against the upper side of the diaphragm 6 by a sliding capl 11, which may be adjusted in position l'by a screw to regulate the stress of the spring effective op the diaphragmand 4 thereby the maximum depth to which the torpedo is allowed to'sink. The'lower wall of the'diaphragm chamber is also provided s .with lugs 12 to' which the latches 13 are pivoted, while thediaphragm 6 carries a lug 14-pivotally connected. to these latches. The arrangement is such that when the supporting mechanism has the position shown in coperating projections on the frame 3A and hold the mass'in position in the pocket, s that not only does the spring 10 tend to hold the diaphragm in that position, but the detachable mass also acts in the same direction .bythe amount of its weight,.the hydrostatic pressure' on the detachable mass being almost exact-ly balanced. However, when the hydrostatic prssure'of submergence acting on the-under side ofthe diaphragm 6 eX- ceeds the combined effects vof the spring 7 and thedetachable mass, the diaphragm will be iexed upwardly to the position yat vwhich thev toes of the latches 13 become disengaged from the :projections ofthe embracing frame 3, whereupon the detachable mass will be in-` stantly released. The weight of the remain- 5`5 ing torpedo structure being less than that of the Water' displaced,l the torpedo Will then rise to the surface of the water and iioat with its head sticking up, so that the torpedo may Ub eeasily seen and readilyl recovered.l Another detachable'mass may then be substi tuted for the one released and the torpedo is again ready for operation as be'fore.

By extending the conduits 7 to the sides of thetorpedo, the hydrostatic pressure 'of subrner'ge'nce:- acts on the diaphragm,`without the .conjunctiveaction of any head pressure when the torpedo is moving through the water. Also by this arrangement, the speed of the torpedo is not interfered with. Furthermore, by the arrangement described, the springlO may besmaller than would otherwisebe required, as a result of the assisting action of the detachable mass tending to hold the' diaphragm against the hydrostatic pressure of submergence. i

Although I have described my improved vapparatus in connection with a practice submarine torpedo, it is to be understood that myinvention is not limited to this application, or to the details of constructionI hereinbefore described, but that I intend to cover the combination of the improvements with all submarine craft to `which they are 'applicable and to cover all forms of construction within the broad interpretation of my` i claims. A aving thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination with a water-tight sub-marine.'v craft; ofmechanism normally carried by the craft comprising a releasable mass of higher specific gravity than the waterv in which the craft is designed to op-I erate; a supporting` mechanism normally holding the mass in place; and a conduit `leading from the water directly to the supporting mechanism to make. the hydrostatic pressure of submergence effective directly against one side of'the 'supporting mechanism so as to gradually'overcome its supporting tendency as the craftsinks and to release-the mass at the predetermined depth;

the arrangementbeing such that thevsubmerged craft is lighter than .thel water dis-' placed byit when the mass is released .from

-said 'diaphragm and assisting said .spring to oppose the hydrostatic pressure; 'the arydrostatic pressure, 4

rangement being such that the sulmaerged it'when the mass is released from it; substantially as described.

a. The combination 'with a 'water-tight submarine craftV having an'inwardly converging pocket closed to theinterior ofthe craft; mechanism normally carried by the craft, comprising a detachable mass of metal 'craft is lighter than the water displaced by f having an embracing frame closely fitting Within. the pocket Wthits exposed surface conforming with the linesof the hull so as to present an uninterrupted contact surfaceJ to the Water; a supporting mechanism vnormally engaging the supporting frame to hold 4the mass in place in the pocket; and automatic releasing mechanism .acted upon directly by the surrounding Water and effective to release the mass at apredetermined depth of submergence; the A arrangement `being. such. that thesubmerged craft is comprising a iiexiblediaphragm, a conduit leading from the Water to one side ofthe diaphragm Vso that the hydrostatic 4pressure of submergence acts on the diaphragm,means acting on the diaphragm against the hydrostatic pressure, and a latchl adapted to en-` gage the mass Whenfsaid means overcome the hydrostatic pressure and to disengage the mass When the hydrostaticpressure' overcomes said means; the arrangement being such that the submerged craft is lighter than .the Water displaced by it When the mass is released from it; substantially as described. 5. The combination with a Watertight submarine craft havingV an inwardly converging pocket in its hull closedv to thein-- terior of the craft; of mechanism-normally carried bythe craft, comprising a detach-- able mass of metal of higher speciicgravity than the Water inwhichthe craft is designed to operate; and supportingr mechanism normally holding the mass in place in the pocket,- comprising a flexible-diaphragm, a spring acting Von one side of' the diaphragm, a conduit leading fromthe Water' to the other side vof the diaphragm, and

- a latch adapted to engage the mass yWhen the diaphragm is held vagainst the hydrol static pressure, and to disengage the mass when the yhydrostatic. pressure moves the diaphragm suiiciently against the action of the spring; the arrangement being such that the submerged craft is'lighter than the Water f 4displaced by it when the mass is released from it; substantially-as described. v

6. l,The combination With a Water-tight submarine craft; of mechanism normally carried by the craft, com rising adetachable mass of material of hig er specific gravity than4 the Water in which the' craft is designed to operate;- and Vsupporting mechanism 'normally Vholding the mass Ain place,

comprising a flexible diaphragm, a spring actingon one side of the diaphragm, a conduitleading from the Water to one side of.;

the diaphragm', and a latch supported from the diaphragm and engaging themass When the diaphragm is held by the spring and the mass against the hydrostatic pressure of sugmergence and to disengage the mass when the hydrostatic pressure moves theV diaphragm su'iiciently vagainst thev action ofthe.

sprin and the mass 'the arrangement being such t at the submerged craft is lighter than the Water 'displaced by itv When the mass is released Afrom it; substantially as described.

pedo, having an'inwardly converging pocket in its hull closed to the-interior of thetorpedo; of mechanism normally'carried by the metal closely fitting in said pocket and having its exposed surface conforming with the lines ofI the hull s o as to present an uninterrupted contact surface to the surrounding water; and supporting'mechanism normallyholding 4the mass in place in the pocket, `comprising a ieXiblel i diaphragm; open o n one side to the pressure Within thetorpedo and a springacting on oneside of the diaphragm, conduits leading from the `7. The combination, Witha submarine tor- -Y torpedo, comprising a 'detachable mass of Water at the sides of the torpedo to the other side of thediaphragm, and a`- latch adapted to engage the mass when the dia-4 phragm is held against the hydrostatic pressure and to release the mass when the hydro- Y static pressure moves diaphragm sufliciently aga'nst the action of .the spring; the arran ement being such that the submerged torpedo I'is lighter than the water displaced by it when the mass is released from it; substantially as described.

, In testimony whereof I afix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

Witnesses:

EISNA M. WHITING, R. L. BINGHAM. 

